The present invention refers to an apparatus for transporting sausages, which are filled in a continuous sausage casing, by suspending said sausages in the form of loops from reception hooks. The hooks are connected to an endless, driven conveyor belt in spaced relationship with one another, said conveyor belt circulating round two deflection wheels and said hooks being loaded with the sausage loops in the area of a first leg of the conveyor belt (transport leg) and returning without any load in the area of a second leg (free leg).
Such apparatuses are normally used for the purpose of preparing and suspending such sausages in the form of chains in such a way that they can be transferred to a smoking rod by means of which a sausage chain of adequate length can then be hung up in a smoking device.
In the case of a known apparatus of this type, the hooks are fixedly arranged on the conveyor belt, i.e. the spaces between the individual hooks cannot be varied. (German Offenlegungsschrift 26 10 315).
The present invention is based on the task of further developing an apparatus of this type in such a way that it is suitable for suspending and transporting the chain of sausages, which is formed by loops, such that--depending on the size and the nature of said chain of sausages--larger or smaller distances exist between the individual loops.